Apple on Tuesday will announce that the iTunes Store will begin carrying music by the legendary rock group The Beatles, The Wall Street Journal has reported.

Citing people familiar with the situation, the site reported Monday evening that Apple's "exciting announcement" would revolve around the arrival of Beatles songs on iTunes. Representatives of the band, as well as their EMI Group record label, were in talks with Apple as recently as last week.

Monday morning, Apple put a teaser on its website, telling customers that the company would have an "exciting announcement from iTunes" Tuesday morning. That led to speculation that Apple could announce a new, cloud-based iTunes service, or a monthly music subscription plan.

Other reports, however, said those products would be unlikely, as Apple does not have the rights required to stream music to customers. Apple has allegedly been in negotiations with record labels for months in an effort to forge a deal.

Rumors of The Beatles finally coming to iTunes are nothing new, but John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono helped to quiet those talks in August, when she said that fans shouldn't hold their breath for a potential deal.

The Beatles have long resisted digital music, instead opting to re-release albums on physical mediums. The band finally released their music digitally on special USB devices, as well as the video game "The Beatles: Rock Band," but iTunes did not come to be.

Rumors of an Apple-Beatles deal became more plausible in recent years, after Apple and Apple Corps made amends and settled a trademark dispute. Previously, the two companies were engaged in a legal battle for years.

I'm as big a fan of the Beatles as the next big fan of the Beatles, but if that's all they're going to present tomorrow, even if it's with the usual Beatles suspects (Paul, Ringo, Yoko, Olivia), it's not a giant thing. Cool, but too little too late, as I think everyone who wants Beatles stuff now, has it. Great for the future, but not going to change anyone's life. Seven years ago... that would have been something.

Are we turning into a 'republish every story that hits the web' now, website?

Quote:

Piper: Expect iTunes cloud, not music subscriptions, from Apple.

Apple appears set to launch iTunes Live Streaming.

WSJ: Apple to announce arrival of Beatles catalog on iTunes.

What's next? NYT: Apple to announce baseball cards.

How about some intelligent articles, guys. There's something to be said about the patient approach. You guys are so mad to say you said something first that what you actually say has become irrelevant - to you. Do you simply care that you said something that was right? In which case you'll pump out the stories just to say: "yeah, we published that one". How about actually waiting to publish something good?

A day we'll never forget is The Beatles on iTunes? Really? Everyone who likes the band already has their records. To hype this one, like they are doing by taking over the Apple homepage across-the-world and being very mysterious while alluding to promise a lot, is well beyond a joke. Well beyond a joke.

When did the WSJ become a gossip publication?? I always thought they were a no nonsense business publication that made informed business articles and speculations. They continue to put this article out there every couple of months....yes, they will get it right one day!

Yeah, republishing an article from a little-known publication such as the WSJ about such irrelevant event is a waste of bits.

Your sarcasm tells me you're not getting it. They have published three stories about three different things about this all within a few hours now. They should just admit they have no clue and we'd at least respect them for that.

I think they may be riffing on the title of a song from the Revolver album of 1966? "Tomorrow Never Knows." It was one of my all time favorites. You had to have been there.

Sort of not the point, though. Is it? If they want to tells us The Beatles are on iTunes, just do it. Don't yank our chain in the process. Any Beatles albums fans desperately want, they already have, iTunes or no iTunes. The Beatles, who incidentally, broke up in 1970. 40 years ago.

Sort of not the point, though. Is it? If they want to tells us The Beatles are on iTunes, just do it. Don't yank our chain in the process. Any Beatles albums fans desperately want, they already have, iTunes or no iTunes. The Beatles, who incidentally, broke up in 1970. 40 years ago.

Right, but this is a very low key kind of announcement so I am expecting a rather low wattage announcement. And it seems like 40 years since we started talking about the Beatles not being on iTunes; it has become rather the unicorn of music--much discussed but never seen.

The point is not that you can't get digital copies, you just can't get them with the elegance and convenience of the iTMS.

As for relevance, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, and hell, Mozart all died a long time ago but they are still listened to and enjoyed by many. Great music never gets old. (Oh, and there are people who think they are overrated too)

If this is just The Beatles on iTunes it's safe to say we can all ignore Apple.com hints from now on.

This is a big deal to us old Farts. I'm happy for Steve Jobs, he has been working this deal for years. The band is legendary and iconic ... and not having them in the iTunes collection made it very incomplete. Not sure if they will sell alot because they are entering the game 8 years after the fact and many of us just ripped the cd's to itunes.

The fact is that their sales are consistent and well documented and their catalog is a goldmine.. Cumulatively they've sold almost 1.5 billion albums in the past 30 years and they still regularly sell millions of albums per year..

If it really does have to do with the Beatles, then yes it will be a day I won't forget. Disappointment... I could care less about any of their songs. Maybe some do, but I don't. My parents might, but they haven't bought any music in years. Literally.

Sort of not the point, though. Is it? If they want to tells us The Beatles are on iTunes, just do it. Don't yank our chain in the process. Any Beatles albums fans desperately want, they already have, iTunes or no iTunes. The Beatles, who incidentally, broke up in 1970. 40 years ago.

i think getting the beatles for itunes means a lot to steve and he really doesn't care about the pathetic apple fans who don't get it.